Let me tell you, it was exhausting! The kids were clingy and missing home. They asked me several times when they’d get to see their dad again. Before we even got to my parents place Sophia was asking when we were going home. She said she missed her bed. Yeah, it was a long 10 days.

We did so some fun things, though. We went to Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park. It just so happened that we were there during the Republic of Texas Independence, so they had several events. We spent about 4-5 hours at the Living Farm. The kids had a lot of fun. Sophia learned how to dance, the kids played with toys from the time period, they got to wash clothes using a washboard. (Sophia seemed to love this. She did it twice!) They watched ox plow a field, made corn husk dolls, saw how/where the people (including slaves) lived, and even made rope! It was really pretty cool.

We also went on a tour of the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory. We saw how the ice cream is made, packed, and shipped. It was pretty neat. Of course, we got to eat some, too.

We made lots of trips to many different parks. It turns out the kids were much more interested in the surroundings than the actual playground equipment. At one point, Sophia exclaimed, “Mom, you gotta see this!! A whole patch of 3 leaf clovers!!” I didn’t have the heart to tell her 3 leaf clovers are every where. They also discovered steams with minnows and ponds with ducks that liked eating bread they threw for (or rather, at) them.

My parents and I took the kids kite flying. They absolutely loved it. Drew was able to get his kite to fly, but Sophia’s kite was a piece of junk that wouldn’t get fly for anything! So there was a bunch of fighting over Drew’s kite. Even my mom ran with the kite and was able to keep it flying. It was fun to see all of us with the kids, acting like kids. Sophia had another famous quote. She was mad that Drew wasn’t sharing his kite so she stomped up and down the field screaming, “I’m mad and Drew doesn’t care!” She said this over and over. It was really quite funny.

I think I’ll enjoy the memories of the trip much more than I enjoyed the actual trip. It was hard being the only parent, with my parents. The kids and I shared a room, with Drew and I sharing a bed, which meant kids went to bed late, I didn’t sleep well, and I couldn’t wait to get home, sleeping in our own beds. Ugh…

They will now review the full document in detail and provide feedback/input late this week or early next week. We’ll need to make some changes, I’m sure, then we’ll present to a large group at the company. Then we will officially be done with this project!! (And hoping they hire us to do more work with them.)

It feels really good to have done this project on my own, without my brother or my dad. And having gotten a positive response at the meeting today gives me more confidence that I really can do this and know what I’m doing. However, I still need to work on the whole selling part because that’s what really stops me. If I could just have the confidence to do that, the jobs would come so much more easily!

BUT!! It will be warmer, much warmer!, then it is here in MN. Especially after today and bringing the kids to daycare when it was -10. I cannot wait to hang outside with the kids, put them in their car seats WITHOUT bulky jackets, and not feel so house-bound. Oh, and we’re going to make a day trip down to the Gulf of Mexico!! I’m actually excited about it. So is Sophia. Drew doesn’t really have a clue, so he’s not as excited about it. lol Ten whole days of nicer weather is just what the doctor ordered.

Ron will have a few days at home, ALONE, before he leaves for India. I know for a fact that he’s really looking forward to it. He’ll be gone for just over a week. He’s never been and he’s looking forward to it. He loves traveling, especially internationally, but hasn’t gotten to do much since we’ve had the kids. So, I’m really happy for him and looking forward to hearing all about his adventures and seeing pictures.

I’d like to say I have some amazing, enlightening, thought-provoking post for you at this moment, but alas, I do not. I’m working on a final presentation for work and really just don’t want to do it. lol I have a bunch of cleaning that needs to be done, but I don’t want to do that, either. (Ron has strep but didn’t find out until Sunday. Thus, the house is a wreck from the long weekend since the kids and Ron were home on Monday.) I’d love to be knitting, but I really can’t afford to do that until I get this report done. (You might ask: Then why are you blogging? The answer: I’m procrastinating!!!)

But I do plan on returning at some point with some more interesting posts. Perhaps even pictures of my recent knitting!

I’m working with an old co-worker who is also a good friend of mine. That has made it so much more worth while! The work sucks as they really aren’t prepared for us to be there. They are very flexible, so I don’t have to be there at a certain time and can leave if/when I need to. (Which is nice because the commute is awful, especially since the bridge collapse!) But I’ve enjoyed the social aspect of being in an office. I’ve even enjoyed dressing up a bit more than I would usually (which is probably VERY strange for those who really know me). I’ll also admit, I’m really looking forward to a steady paycheck!!

As for the bridge…it was a little scary for me. I took that bridge twice a day to and from my new job. I didn’t work that day, so I wasn’t on it. As I was watching, I was thinking, “Wow, that would suck to know someone on the bridge!” Then I realized that my brother took that bridge to pick up my nephew from daycare and return home. I called him, but didn’t get an answer so I left him a message. I hadn’t heard from him after a while, so called him again. Turns out he hadn’t even heard about it. (So thankfully they were okay!) My brother decided to take a different way home to try avoiding traffic. Still, seeing the pictures is rather surreal. I am amazed at how many people survived, and feel deeply for those who lost loved ones in the accident.

In other, happy news…I’m an aunt again!! SIL (DH’s sister) gave birth to a baby girl today at 4:12 pm. Her name is Izabella Lee. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and measured 20.5 inches. I hear she has lots of dark hair (which is quite different from their son who has blond hair). I’m so excited to meet her!

During that same week, Drew decided to learn how to climb out of his crib. Noo!! It wasn’t a one time incident, either. We are looking at taking the crib down and move him to his toddler bed this next week or so. (He really only tries to get out when he’s done with his nap or in the morning.) I’m so not ready for this transition. I was hoping to have a little time until we took this step. However, I do think he’ll move to a bed more easily than Sophia did. We shall see…

It was also my plan to wait about a month after the pacifiers were taken away to give a serious shot at potty training Drew. Now I’m not sure if I should wait until we move him to a bed, or just pick a date and go with it. I think I’ll wait a couple weeks to see how it goes before deciding. I think I’m going to put him in underwear, though, when I give it a shot. The wetness may encourage him to make it to the toilet instead of going in his underwear.

It’s so hard to believe my littlest baby is growing so quickly, and I’ll never go through these milestones again. But, I’ll have many more milestones to look forward to!!

Ron left this afternoon on a work trip. He’s only gone for two nights, but I get the sense that they are going to be two loooong nights. Hopefully Drew’s temp will break in time for him to return to daycare tomorrow. I have so many work items I need to work on, sleep to catch up on, and cleaning to do. It feels overwhelming at the moment.

Playing in the Water, originally uploaded by cynandron.

We went to our friend Dale’s house on Sat. in WI. We spent almost all day at the beach. It was a blast, really. The kids played in the sand and water, went on the boat, found a crayfish and played with it, and enjoyed the other kids that were also there.

They had so much fun that Drew didn’t get a nap until 3 pm when he usually naps at noon. He wasn’t even cranky!

After the beach we went back to Dale’s for dinner and a bonfire. And of course, S’mores! Yum! The kids played with the chickens, ran around his huge yard, found a frog, and watched the older “kids” (adults) ride dirt bikes around.

Ron and I both have some sun burn. I did put stuff on me a couple times, but I either didn’t get it on well enough, or I didn’t put it on early enough. Sophia doesn’t have ANY sunburn (thank god), but Drew has a three inch band on his lower back and a spot on his shoulder. I know how he got his. See, I usually put the sunscreen on the kids while they are naked. That way I don’t miss any spots. Well, Ron put Drew in his swimsuit, then put the lotion on. While we were at the beach, he took his suit off and only had his swim diaper on. That would be the small band that got burned. Still, it makes me so sad! Fortunately it doesn’t seem to hurt much, so I’m thankful for that. But, this is definitely a lesson for us!!

Last night I brought the kids home late at night (it’s a 2 hour drive) while Ron stayed overnight. I got home, got Drew out of the car, still sleeping, walked to our back door and realized the door was locked!! So I go to the car to get my keys, only to remember that my house key was IN the house!

After making some calls (and having Drew screaming), we drove to my parents to spend the night there. I’ve been so tired all day long. I was tired last night when I got home, then had to get the kids to my parents and in bed, and had to share a bed with Drew. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well. Then Drew woke up at 5:45 am. OMG!

Ron woke up early and made his way home. We’ve had a rough day with the kids who were also so tired all day. We were hoping an early nap would solve the attitude problem with the kids. No such luck. Sophia refused to nap, and Drew had a short one. It was no surprise to us (okay, a little) that they were in bed, sleeping by 6:45 pm.

Oh, we also learned that we NEED to have a spare key some where on our property. And, if last night hadn’t happened, we would have had a very nice time!